Railroad composite tie.



No; 816,977. PATENTED APR. 3, 1906. W. GOLDIE.

RAILROAD COMPOSITE TIE.

APPLICATION FILED 0110.5,1903.

2 SHEETS-SHBET 1.

wimlzissiz if INVENTOR. w Ma No. 816,977. PATENTED APR. 3, 1906. W. GOLDIE. RAILROAD COMPOSITE TIE.

APPLIOATION FILED DEC,5,1903.

2 SHEBTS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES. A INVENTOR.

firm c K 241 UNITED sra'rns PATENT enrich.

ILLIAM GOLDIE, OF W ILKlNSBURG, .l-l'ilh h liiYLVANIA.

nmLnoao cont nent: "net.

' slams. i

n) all; wit/mt it may; concern;

7 no it linoi'vn that l, WILLIAM GOLIHE', a

resident'of Wilkinsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State. of Pennsylvania, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Compositc Railroad-i1es and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof;

My invention relates to composite metal and. wood railway-ties; and its object'is to provide a tie of this character which is practically indestructible by the elements, which does not destroy the insulation of the rails, so

that (the latter can be used for signaling and other p iii-poses, and which will hold the spikes .IIlQl'G securely than ordinary wooden ties.

Composite metal and wooden ties have heretofore" been made, these comprising in their general construction. a hollow box-like 1 portion of the metallic tie member.

metallic body provided with openings in its upper face and having" blocks of wood inserted ln'said box underneath the openings, to 'WlllCll blocks of wood the rails are spiked.

In prior devices of this kind, as far as I know,

I the holes through the top face of the box-like metallic member were of such a size that the rail or its fastening; means contacted with some The diffii culty with this construction is that each tie forms a metallic cross connection between the rails, thus entirely destroying their value as conductors for signaling; and similar pur poses. Furthermore, 1n prior ties of this i kind, as far know, the wooden blocks are .just as, liable to decay and have no better ;.gripping power on the spikes than the ordinarywooden ties.

The object of my invention is to improve "composite metaland wooden railway-ties so as to overcome the several defects above noted' To this end the invention consists,

generally stated, in a tie having a hollow or tubular metallic body provided with open ings inits top surface, together with wooden spike-receiving blocks inserted into said 1101-.

low 'bodyunderneath said openings, the open- ,fings being ofconsiderable size,"and the Side walls of thehollow bodybeing also cut away at saidopenings, so that the rails rest entirely upon the wooden blocks and are notin con tact with any partof the metal body portion of the tie, so that the insulation of therails is not (-lestroyed and their use for signaling and similar purposes is fully preserved.

The invention also consists in treating the p Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 5, 1903.- Serial No. 183,969.

Patented 1 pril 3, 1906.

wooden blocks prior to their insertion into the hollow body with some woodpreservative, such as sulfate of zinc, which will. preserve the same from decay and render it practically indestructible except by mechanical forces. I

The invention also consists in compressing or compacting the wooden blocks and forcing them in compressed condition into the tubular body, thus rendering the fiber of said blocks more dense and greatly increasing the holding power on the spikes.

in the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of one form of my improved tie. Figs. 2 and 3 are similar views of b her forms thereof. Fig. =1 is a longitudinalve al section through the tie shown in Fig. 1. Fig.

5 is a diagrammatic View illustrating the treatif desired; but to facilitate tamping the ballast in place I prefer to leave them. rounded,

asshown inthe drawings; This tube may have the flattened top and bottom surfaces extend for its whole length, as shown in Fig. 1, or said flithilullGd faces maybe only at the ends, as shown in Fig.2, or the top surface may be flat for the full length, while the bottom surface is ilattened'only at the ends, as shownin Fig. The top' surface shouldbe flattened at the ends to give a good rail-seat, while the lower surface should be flattened at the ends to gives-good bearing on theballast, and preferably said. lower face will be left rounded intermediate the ends, as in Figs. 2 and 3, so it will work down into the ballast,

"and thus prevent center-binding.

- .The tubular body 1 is provided near cpposite "ends thereof with anopening 2, cut

through the top thereof. The side walls are also cut away, as at 3, at these openings.

Into this tube underneath the openings 2 I insert wooden blocks 4-, whose upper face naturally projects above the top edge of the side Walls of the tube at the openings, and the- -'openings 2 are of such size that when the rail 5 is in place it will be supported entirely on thewooden block and neither said rails nor the spikes will be in contact with anyportion of the metallic part of the tie. In this manner the rails are thoroughly insulated and their use for signaling and, other pur oses fully preserved. In cases where tra c is severe tie-plates of anyapproved form may be used between the base of the rail and thetie; but in such cases caremust be taken to so place the tie-plate that it will not contact with the metallic body 1, as otherwise the insulation of the rail would be destroyed.

The rails 5 are secured to the wooden blocks by the usual spikes 7, and in order to increase the grip of the blocks on the spikes said blocks are compressed very firmly before heing inserted into the tubular body.- This may be accomplished by any suitable apparatussuch, for instance, as presses of various forms. Preferably, however, a funnel or tapered guide 8 is employed. The tubular body 1 is held rigidly in place at the small "end of the funnel, and the block is then '-tube.

forced by any suitable means, such as the plunger 9, through the funnel and into the The funnel is of suchlength and taper thatby the mere act of forcing the biock through the same it will be very firmly compressed, said block preferabl" being first steamed, so as to render it yiel g.- A blockof sufiicient size istaken, so that when comand as it is forced into said tube in thiscompressed state it will be held therein with suflicient friction to-prevent movement therein. If desired, resort may be, had to a bolt or other holding means, such as pressing the walls of the tube inward behind the block. The method of making the tie disclosed herein is not claimed in this a plication, but is clriimedin'my a plication, erial No.183',968, filed concurrent y herewith. In this manner the fibers of the blocks 4 become very close and dense, being retained in this condition by the fact that they fit very closely in-the tube 1. They therefore. will very firmly grip the spikes driven into the same. The density of the wooden blocks also considerably in-- creases the life-of said'blocks, due to the fact that moisture will not easily penetrate the same. To increase their life, however, said blocks are treated before being compressed by an well-known wood-preservative, such as sul ate of zinc, this treatment being given to the blocks in any suitable or desirable way, such as immersing the same in a tank 15, containing a solution of the-wood-preservative, which will thus impregnate the blocks. The

compressing of theblocks after treatmentwood preservative closes up the .cellular tissues and binds the chemical in. the wood andisolidifies the same to sucha degree that it cannot' be Ldi'ssipatedeither by leaching or evaporation.

.' ing It will thus be seen that my composite tie is practically. indestructible by ordinary chemical actions of the elements and that the life of the wooden parts will be practically the same as that of the metallic parts. This tie offers a very firm base for the rail and a very secure holding means for the spikes.

For all intents and purposes also it has all the benefits ofa wooden tie, thoroughlyinsulating the rails and making it possible to use the ordinary signaling systems in connection therewith- Only a small portion of the tie is of wood, while the treatment of the wooden blocks with a preservative and afterward compressing the same makes it possible in use soft, cheap, and otherwise useless wood, such as pine, cotton-wood, .and the like, im-

portant considerations by reason-of theco'rm ing scarcity of wood for tie purposes.

As weight is an essential or at least a desirable element of railway-ties, the 'central tubular portion between the wooden blocks maybe filled with .sand, cement, or other,

suitable material 16, and the end portions outside of the wooden blocks ma also .be filled with cement or other suits le rial 17. i

In place of the wooden blocks I mayuse blocks of wood-pulp, waste leather, felt, or

other suitable fiber suitably compressed to sufficient density to hold the-spikes andnlso acting as insulation.

What I claim is- 1. A railwa -tie comprising a tubular metallic body an railsupporting blooks-of'insulating material secured to said body insu'ch manner as to support the rail and its fasten ing means out of contact with all parts of the metal body.

' 2. A railway-tie comprising-a metallichollow body having openings in its upper surface near its ends, said openings being-ofsufi ficient size to prevent the railiand its fastening means from contacting with any portion of the metallic tie-body, and rail-supporting blocks of insulating material in said body opposite said openings with their uppersurfaces proj ectiniabove the sides-of the openings in the meta '0 body.

3. A railway-tie comprising a tubular metallic body having openings inits upper face near'each end, said 0 nin s extendingdown into the side walls'o the. Tmdy and beingof sufficient size to prevent the rail or its fastenmeans from contacting with any portion of the metallic tie-body, and rail-supporting blocks of insulating material in said body underneath said openings-withtheir upperfaces above the tops of the side walls at the openmgs 4. A railway-tie comprising a metallic tube flattened on its top and bottom faces at its ends at least-and having openings in its upper face'near each end, said openings extending down into walls-of the. tube and being of sufficient size to prevent the rail or its fastening means from contacting with any portion ofthe metallic tie-body. and rail-supporting near each end, said openings extending down into the side walls of said hollow body, and rail-supporting and spike-receiving blocks consisting of fiber compressed to a density sufficient to hold spikes and being placed in said 7 body underneath said openings with their u perfaces above the top of the side .walls 0 the hollow body at the openings.

7. A railwaytie comprising a metallic body consisting of a tube havlng flattened top and bottom faces at its ends at least and having openings formed in its top face near its ends, said openings extending down into the side walls of the tube, and rail-supporting and spike-receiving blocks consisting of compressed wood inserted in said tube underneath said openings with their upper faces above the top edges of the side walls ofthe tube at the openings.

8. A railway-tie having spike-receiving portions of fiber compressed to a density sufficient to hold spikes and means for holding the same in compressd condition.

- 9. A railway tie comprising a metallic body, and spike-receiving portions consisting of fiber compressed to a density sufficient to {301? spikes and suitably secured to said or y.

10. A railwaytie comprising spikere ceiving portions. of compressed chemicall treated wood, and means for holding tlie same in compressed condition.

11 A railway tie comprising a hollow metallic body having openings in its up er face near its ends, and spikereceiving b ocks of compressed chemically-treated wood inserted in said body opposite said openin s.

12. A railway-tie comprising a ho low metallic body having openings in its upper face near each end, said openings extendlng down into the side sills of said tube, and spikereceiving blocks of compressed chemicallytreated wood placed in said body opposite said holes with their upper faces bearing against the top of said tube.

13. A railway-tie comprising a hollow Inetallic body having its'lower face flattened at the ends and the intermediate portion round, said body having openings in its up er face, and spike-receiving blocks in said bo y opposite said openings.

14. A railway-tie comprising a body having its lower face flattened transversely at the ends and the intermediate portion con-- vex;

15. A railway-tie comprising a metallic tube flattened at its ends at least and having.

openings cut in its upper face, and-spike-re- *ceiving blocks of chemicallytreated fibrous material compressed to a density sufficient to hold spikes and positioned in said tube opposite said holes.

. In testimon whereof I, the said WILLIAM GOLDIE, have ereunto set my hand.

' WILLIAM GOLDIE. Witnesses:

ROBERT C. TOTTEN, G. C. RAYMOND 

